Metal structure.



A. J. BATES.

METAL STRUGTURE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 17, 1909.

Patented D60. 5, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES A. J. BA' IES. METAL STRUCTURE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 17 1909.

" Patented Dec. 5, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR myxaw WWW 1mm! F cmcA GojnLinoIs. 1

I Murat s'rmrcrunn.

To all whom it may, concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT J. BA'rEs.,of Chicago, Cook county, Illinois,have invented anew and useful Improvement in Metal Structures, of whichthe following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings,

- forming part of thisspecification, in Which- Figure 1 is aperspectiveview of a post onpole structure embodying my invention; Flgs. 2-and3 aredetail views of portions of the structure; Fig. 4: is an elevationshowing a modified formfiof structure; Fig. 5 is a section on-the lineVV of Fig. 4;, and Figs. 6 and 7 are perspectivevviews showing portionsof two other forms of structures.

My invention has relation .to metal structures capable of use for fenceposts,- telegraph, telephone, electric light and other and for variousother purposes.

a structure of this character having great strength and rigidity inproportion to the ciency can be obtained'at a cost not exceeding thecost ofwood, and consequently, the metal structure can be used as asubstitute for wood. 1 I :fl

gThe nature of my invention will be best understood by reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which I have shown a number of difierentembodiments thereof, and. I avhich will now be described, it beingprefiflised, however, that the forms shown are illustrative only of myinvention, and that it is capable of various other embodimentswithin'the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 40 In the form ofthe invention shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, whichillustrate myv inventionas applied to theconstructionof a fence post, the post is in ,the formof a frame which is triangular in cross section and has the threeparallel longitudinal metal rods 2', 3 and 4'. These parallel rods arebound I together, so as to form panels by means of ,ztruss rods, whichextend in zig-zag fashion back andforth between each adjacent pair ofparallel rods. These diagonal or zig-zag truss rods are preferablycontinuous from end. to end, although this complete continuity is notessential tonry invention, broadly iconsidered. Each truss rod fiat theapices of the angles, is bent into: the form of a double loop 6, of theshape shown in the Specification of Letters Patent. Application filedJuly 17,1909. Serial nobaoaisa poles; also as a reinforcement forconcrete.

weight of the material used, so that efii drawing, and therods;2, 3, and4 are passed 4 through the respective loops thus. formed.

In the pfiparation of the post, the-truss rods are previously preparedby beingbent in zig-zag form and provided with loops at the apices, asabove described, and the 'paral;

lel rods are threaded throughthe eyes of the loops. I I

Inthe construction shown in Figs. 1,2

and 3 of the drawings, there are three panels.

each made up of a single zig-zag truss rod,

prepared .as above described; and in assembling the several panels, eachparallel rod passes through the eyes. of two sets of loops 7 of thetruss rods, and the eyes or loops. of theserespective rods alternatewith one another, as shown at the eyes 6, 6'; When the parts have beenthus'assembled, in the manufacture of the post, a strong outwardpull is7 exertedin a directionat right anglesto' their v length, the pull beingapplied at the eyes of Theob ect of my invention is to produce the trussrods. The effect of this is to form in the parallel rods at the eyes ofthe truss rods short kinks or bends 7, and also to 8 stretch the metalof the: truss rods somewhat, so as to straighten them andset the loopstightly on the longitudinal rods-.- vThe stretching is carried somewhatbeyond the elastic'limit of the truss rods, sov thatthey are made veryrigid and are bound 'fir mlye;vv upon the parallel rods and; can not bedisplaced. The whole structure thus becomesa rigid and practicallyunitary devices .Inthe form described inthesafigures, the post istriangular in cross section and each ofthe; panels formed by the trussrods is composed of triangular sections, 'thereby making a structurewhich is notonly triangular in its general outline,but which is composedwholly of trian larly arranged elements, The, truss e ect thus\pro'duced,. contributes greatly to the rigidityof the structure, sinceall these elements are subjected onlytotension and compression strains,,and the structure, therefore, possesses great resistance to.- any change.in its form, theprinciplejnvolved being the use of triangles,.which,.as

is well known, can not change their shape without a change in the lengthof one of their members. The act of stretching the truss rods beyondtheir elastic limit puts a set in them which Ieavesthem perfectlystraight, and the form given the loop-knots, by which theyare engagedwith'and secured to the longitudinal rods, is such, as will be seen fromthe drawings, (Fig. 1) that the 5 ency to distort the structure.

When the structure is employed as a fence post, telegraph pole, or otherstructure which is to be set in the ground, it is desirable in somecases to provide it with a con- 1 crete or other plastic base, such,for. in-

stance, as is shown at B in Fig. 1. This base is shown in Fig. 1 asconsisting of a hollow triangular shell in which the diagonal truss rodsare embedded. Theprovision of this 15 shell does not'add greatly to theweight of the structure, while it increases very largely the surfacearea of the buried portion of the structure, which is effective as aresist- I ance bearing for the soil. It also protects 0 the metal of thepost from corrosion. This may, however, be dispensed with, if desired,and insteadof extending the shell entirely to the low eigen d iif thestructure, as shown in Fig. 1, it may, as shown at B in Fig. 7,

5 surround only a part of the buried portion of the structure.

In Fig. 4,5Lha've shown another form of my inventi iYin w h ich only twoparallel longitudinal rods 9 and 10 are employed,

these two rods being connected by a truss rod 11, W; lid} is arrangedand is connected to the longitudinal rods in the same manner as thetruss rods 5, shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. This fonnaoimy invention iswell adapt- 5 ed for use as a metal reinforcement for concreteconstructions. It also may be used as a fence post, the rods employedbeing heavier, if necessary, than those used in the construction shownin Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

In the form of my invention which is illustrated in Fig, 7, four of theparallel longitudinal rods 12 are employed, being connected by trussrods 13 of the same character and arrangement as in the other fig- 5ures. The structure thus formed is a hollow rectangular structure,composed of four panels, the looped knots connecting the truss rods withthe longitudinal rods being in staggered relation to form triangles, as

shown.

in the manner-described.

The advantages of my invention are many and will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art.

The structures can be manufactured at a comparatively low cost, it beingpossible to use rolling mill products entirely.

The structures can be made of various sizes and lengths, according tothe purpose for which it is desired to use them, and their weight isexceedingly low in proportion to their strength and rigidity. Theconstruction is also such as to offer but little resistance to windpressures.

I claim:

1. A metal structure composed of longitudinal rods and zigzag trussrods, each truss rod being bent into a loop knot at each apex, andadjacent longitudinal rods passing through the corresponding loops ofeach truss rod, substantially as described.

2. A metal structure having longitudinal rods and diagonal looped trussrods, adja cent longitudinal rods extending through the correspondingloops of the same truss rod, the latter being stretched beyond theirelastic limit, and the longitudinal rods being crimped at the loops,substantially as described. v

3. Ametal structure triangular in cross section having three parallelcorner rods, and three truss rods, each truss rod extending in zigzagform between and looped around adjacent longitudinal rods, therebyforming a series of triangles, each truss rod being bent at each apexinto a loop knot, and each corner rod passing through correspondinglooped knots, substantially as described.

4. A metal structure composed of longitudinal rods connected bycontinuous truss rods, each truss rod being of zig-zag form and unitedto adjacent longitudinal rods by loop-knots at their apices.

5. A metal structure composed of longitudinal members connected by trussrods zig-zag in form, each truss rod having loopknots at the apices ofits angles through which adjacent longitudinal rods pass, and said'trussrods having a permanent set.

6. A metal structure composed of longitudinal members connected by trussrods zigzag in form, each truss rod having loopknots at the apices ofits angles through which adjacent longitudinal rods pass, and said trussrods having a permanent set, the longitudinal rods also having apermanent set.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set H. M. CORWIN, GEORGE H.PARMELEE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. a

